


Things Beyond Your Ken

by coffeebuddha



Series: Emma Verse [3]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Established Relationship, F/M, First Date, Future Fic, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-01
Updated: 2012-04-01
Packaged: 2017-11-02 21:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/373465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeebuddha/pseuds/coffeebuddha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You're too trusting. I don't see why we couldn't at least run a background check on the kid."</p>
<p>"Because we promised Emma we wouldn't turn into Hotch. Remember how badly he freaked out Jack's first boyfriend? Do you <i>want</i> our daughter to stop talking to us for two and a half months?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Beyond Your Ken

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sugakane_01](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugakane_01/gifts).



" You're too trusting," Derek says darkly. "I don't see why we couldn't at least run a background check on the kid."

Spencer shifts on the sofa to swing his feet up onto Derek's lap and says without looking up from his book, "Because we promised Emma we wouldn't turn into Hotch. Remember how badly he freaked out Jack's first boyfriend? Do you _want_ our daughter to stop talking to us for two and a half months?"

The pause stretches a hair longer than it should and Spencer thumps Derek's thigh with the heel of his foot. "Bearing in mind," he says, peering out from over the top of his book, "that this whole mollusk thing probably only has another couple weeks before she has a different obsession to talk nonstop about."

"What do you think we'd have to do to keep her from talking to us for two weeks?" Derek asks. 

Spencer kicks him again and says, "We don't deliberately antagonize the children, Derek. I'll make you recite the house rules again if I have to."

"Right, no, I've got them," Derek says. He taps his fingers over Spencer's bare ankle and frowns at the muted game playing on the television. "Maybe we shouldn't have given her permission to start dating yet."

The book is tossed onto the coffee table at that and Spencer scoots and twists until he's straddling Derek's lap. "She's sixteen." A kiss on the cheek. "She has a car and any number of friends who would be willing to cover for her if she decided to try to sneak around." Another on the nose. "She's a good kid, we raised her well, and I want her to feel like she can always be open and honest with us." A long, slow one on the lips. "Everything's going to be fine."

There's a bang as the front door slams open. 

"Jacob is an asshole!"

"Oh, yeah, everything's _fine_ ," Derek deadpans at Spencer. "We're in the den, princess!"

Spencer rolls his eyes and drops back onto the couch just as Emma appears in the doorway. There's a large orange stain on the front of her dress and the heel on one of the strappy sandals dangling from her fingertips is broken, but she looks more angry than upset, so he's not ready to start worrying yet. That still doesn't stop him from asking, "Do we need to have him arrested? Because we know enough of the right people that we could probably have him tried as an adult."

That earns them something that's almost a smile. "No, it's nothing like that. Jacob, the _idiot_ , decided it'd be a good idea to bring his friends on our date."

"Oh, bad move," Derek says with a wince.

"Very," Emma agrees.  " I think the highlight of the night was probably when Adam spilled his orange soda on me, which made me stumble and break my heel."

"So no second date then," says Spencer. "Did you at least get something to eat out of it?"

"No. I wouldn't even get back into the car after the soda fiasco." She pouts for a moment--a look Derek swears up and down she didn't get from him, though anyone with eyes could tell that's a lie--and waves her shoes at them, then brightens a bit. "Henry came and picked me up.  In fact, he's waiting in the driveway. He thought I could use some cheering up, so he's going to take me out for a real dinner after I clean up and get changed."

Derek opens his mouth to say something, but Emma's already taken off down the hallway toward her room. He turns toward Spencer instead. "No."

Spencer walks over to the window and lifts the blinds. When Henry looks up and catches sight of him, Spencer waves at him to come in.

"No," Derek says again. "He's a nice boy--hell, he's practically family--but he is way too old for her."

"At least we won't have to run a background check on him," Spencer points out. "And do you really want to explain to JJ why you have a problem with her son taking Emma out to what might be a perfectly innocent dinner?"

"I hate you when you make sense," Derek grumbles, but Henry walks in before he can really start to sulk, and he straightens and goes to put an arm around him, completely ignoring Spencer's warning glare. "Ah, Henry, just the man I wanted to see. Let's have a little talk about my princess."

There's nothing overtly threatening in Derek's demeanor, but Henry's already starting to look a little green around the edges and Spencer wonders exactly how tight his grip is.

"What he means," Spencer cuts in, snatching his wallet up from where he dropped it on the bookshelf earlier and opening it to pull out a few bills, "is that we know what it's like to be a college student, so here's some money to take care of dinner. Consider it a thank you for helping Emma."

Derek and Henry both start to talk at the same time and Spencer cuts Derek a dark look as he tucks the money into Henry's shirt pocket.

"Take her somewhere nice and have her home by ten," he says in the same voice he uses when dealing with particularly disagreeable undergraduates.

Emma breezes through the room right on cue and hooks an arm through Henry's, executing a neat little turn that has her rocking up to peck Derek's cheek and pulls Henry out of his grasp at the same time.

"Will do," she chirps and then they're gone.

Derek turns the full force of his glare on Spencer. "Traitor."

Spencer shrugs, completely unrepentant. "I'll make it up to you with a blow job?"

"Better be a good one," Derek says, only pausing long enough to turn off the television before following Spencer back to the bedroom.


End file.
